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C. H.- ROHDE. `TBruni-INEMlsuppolw.

Patented March 13, 1877.

difesi N. PETERS. PHDTOLITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTONy D CVSpeciiication-form-m g partofLe niicat'ion led February 13, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CONRAD H. BORDE, of the city of Chicago, in thecounty of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in'Table-Leaf Supports; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof', whichwillv enable others skilled in the art to which itappertain's to makeand use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, andto letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

rlhe object of my invention is to produce a device for supporting theleaves of tables or of sewing-machines, or to belapplied to anythingelse of a character analogous to these, which device sl1all,'by means ofthe simplest mechanism possible, act automatically iu locking and firmlybracing the leaf upon the lat ters being raised to a horizontalposition; and the said invention consists in the novel arrangement,hereinafter described, of a brace, a slotted and notched guide, and aspring, the first-named journaled or. hinged at one end to thetable-rail', or'whatever may take the place thereof, in such manner thatits opposite end may slide freely in the guide, which is secured to theleaf, and be shot upward into the locking-notch by the action of thespring at the proper moment-that is to say, just as the leaf attains ahorizontal position.

I am aware that-various forms of mechanism embodying' a brace, a guide,and a spring, and serving, more or less effectively, the purpose abovenamed, have alreadyv been patented 5 but my device differs essentiallyfrom them all in `its arrangement and mode of operation, as will be seenfrom the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation ot' my deviceattached to a table. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan AView of the same. .Figs3 and 4 are detail views.

The brace A is pivoted or hinged at b. A stud, c, projectsv laterallyfrom its opposite end, and slides in the slotf of the guide B as theleaf is raised or lowered, reaching, just as the leaf attains ahorizontal position, the

f notch d, into which it is forced by the spring E.v The stud or pin chas a head upon its outer end, (see Fig. 4,) to prevent it'from slip- 1ping out of the slot, which 'the neck closely fits. The circular recesse, at the outer extremity of the slot, is to permit the adjustment inposition of the stud c. 'The head is passed through at that point beforethe guide is screwed to the leaf, and. the guide is made of such lengththat,. once in place, the stud will always fall short .of the recess, asindicated bythe dotted lines in Fig. 1. The guide B is provided withang'es i t', in order that it may be firmly screwed in place.

1t will be observed that the slot f has a slight downward incline at theinner end. This is in order that the ripper bar of the guide may be madethicker at that end, so as to sn-t'- fer no loss of strength inconsequence of the notch. It does not inthe least affect the action,while it does away with all necessityfor recessiug the upper end of theleaf to accommodate the thicker end of the guide. If preferred, however,the slot may be made straight throughout. The spring E is fastened atone end to the ange on the innerextremity of Athe guide, thenceprojecting in an inclined position downward and outward across the innerextremity of the slot, and passing close to the notch, as clearly -shownin Fig. 3. It

will be seen that, upon the leafs attaining a horizontal position, theforcing of the stud upward into the notch, and its. Subsequent retentionthere until forcibly removed, are necessary consequences of this mode ofconstruction.

It is obvious, however, that the particular form of the spring is not anall-important feature of the device; but that, if preferred, a helicalspring, or any other form that will promptly perform the desiredfunction-namely, drive the stud upward into the notch`may be substitutedfor the one I havedescribed.

To lower the leaf the hand is passed underneath, and sufficient pressureexertedupou the upper end of the brace to overcome the resistance ofthespring, when the leaf will descend by its own weight. It is best topress the leaf upward with the thumb while pressing the-brace downwardwith the lingers, as, by this means, the stud is most readily broughtout of the notch.

My device answers its purpose with the utmost nicety, andthe end soughtbein gi attained without the aid of any complicated mechanismwhatsoever; but, on the contrary, by means of only the simplest andfewest mechanical agents possible, there is no liability of its gettingout of order under ordinary conditions. Moreover,on accountof theextreme simplicity of its construction, it can be manufactured at acomparatively small cost. y

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The :combination of `the 4pivoted .l ,race`.A,`

having the stndel,y the slotted gnidei, providedwith the notch d, andthe spring E, op-

erating to press the stud upward into the notch, substantially asdescribed, and for the purpose set forth.

t In testimony that Iclaim the foregoing as my own I ax my signature'in' presence of two witnesses.` y

` v CONRAD H. ROHDE.

Witnesses: i t BRUNO KRATZENSTEIN, i

. FREDERICK B. Sm'rn. 1 i l v

